Snail food suggestions?

[jessibell]

I have a 1.5 gallon tank heated and filtered with pond snails and a couple ramshorns, building up stock for a puffer fish I want to get. I have been feeding them pleco logs, lettuce, zuchinni, and spinach, which they all like. The problem is with cleaning the tank. When I siphon all the waste out, i take a good portion of all the little wee baby snails with it because they are in with the algae and stuff. I want the snails to populate and grow as quickly as they are able. I have heard of making gelatin squares with pureed veggies, algae blocks, etc. Do you think these would make the tank easier to clean and less likely to suck up baby snails? Do they break down and spread all around like the pleco logs do?

 

[jessibell]

I have been doing some reading and it seems everyone is always being cautious about getting a phosphorus-free calcium source - wouldn't phosphorus be good because it encourages algae growth, which snails also eat?

 

[happygirl65]

snails will eat regualr fish food but the phosphorous really gets the algae growing...fast and lots of it.
I would just throw algae pellets in the tank and let them have that. There will be plenty of food and the pond snails and ramshorns will reproduce prolifically even without a bunch of algae in the tank as long as there is some kind of food to eat. Just give it time, you will have hundreds of them in no time.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Sit the tank next to a window and you'll get some great food for them